It’s a warm sunny morning with views stretching far across the blue sea to the Isle of Wight. The island stands as a hazy silhouette on the horizon around 30km to the East of the park.
The Holm Oaks have begun to drop their old browned leaves as fresh lime-green ones emerge. The continuous flurry of falling leaves giving a strange autumnal feel to this Spring morning.
I descend past the Castle and Amphitheatre, following a path lined with towering Charlock and humungous Burdock leaves. Red Valerian billows out from the walls surrounding the Great Globe, which is visited by a Wall Brown butterfly flitting between the flowers.
Above one of the stone tablets, a gap in the dry stone wall has become home to a family of Blue Tits. One by one, I watch the parents birds depart the nest, then return home with a fresh green Caterpillar clasped in its beak.
Jackdaws and Crows bicker along the clifftop, whilst Fulmars and Woodpigeons float around in harmony. Plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills raft upon the water; you can hear them trill and patter of their wings as they splash around or take flight.
A small fishing boat saunters along the coast and is followed by a frenzy of Herring Gulls.
Beautiful yellow blooms of Buttercup, Birds Foot Trefoil, Horseshoe Vetch, and Smooth Sow Thistle, all line the meandering coastal path. Not many Gorse flowers remain, but the Mayflower blossoms are in their peak atop the Hawthorn.
Another Wall Brown basks on the rock face above the entrance to Tilly Whim Caves, whilst a Linnet chatters away amongst the Tamarisk. I catch sight of it’s rosy red chest as the long branches sway in the gentle breeze. Overhead, the fast, arrow-shaped flight of a Swift darts through.